Carbon nanotubes are innovative carbon materials having a characteristic structure with a tubular graphene sheet, and are substances expected to be applied to various fields due to their mechanical and chemical characteristics and high electrical conductivity derived from the laminated structure of graphene sheets.
It has been reported that since carbon nanotubes are themselves nanoscale fiber materials, they have a high specific surface area, so that various catalyst metals can be supported thereon in a highly dispersed state, and as a result, carbon nanotubes have a high carrier effect in various reactions. Examples of reaction systems in which the high carrier effect of carbon nanotubes has been observed include electrode catalysts for fuel cells, dry methane reforming, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalysts, and sodium borohydride decomposition catalysts for hydrogen production (e.g. Patent Literature 1).